Along for the ride

Page Tools

The legs are waxed and the spokeless wheels are ready to roll. The track cycling World Cup starts at the Dunc Gray Velodrome today, with 215 cyclists from 44 nations competing over three days.

One man with fond memories of competing at the Bankstown venue is British rider Chris Hoy, who won silver in the teams sprint at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

"You arrive at the airport and the same feelings just come flooding back. At the track, just walking out through the tunnel, coming out onto the track, the sensations are amazing. I've been here a couple of times since but my memories are from 2000. It's brilliant to be back in Sydney," Hoy said.

Hoy, a leading contender for the British Olympic team, won the kilometre time trial at the World Championships in 2002. He competes in the same event tonight, then joins with fellow Brits Craig McLean and Jamie Staff to contest the teams sprint on Sunday. Hoy said the kilometre race against the clock is about mental toughness.

"At the start line, you just go into autopilot. You are focussing on the immediate first part of the race. Just getting around that first lap. Nothing else is in your mind. I suppose I see each race in segments, separated from each other. You can finish a race and not remember what happened. It can be a very strange state of mind."

AdvertisementAdvertisement

While the World Cup is intensely competitive, the Olympics are the sport's pinnacle, with qualification for Athens the main focus of most competing athletes. "It's going to be really exciting working that out. In the British team, competition is tough, with rivals all training together, but morale is high," said Hoy.

Australia and Britain will be jostling for medals in Hoy's events, with France and Germany the two other cycling nations likely to pose a threat. "There are probably six or seven guys who could be on the podium in Athens. It could be any member of that group, which hopefully includes me."

While the likes of Hoy are already plotting gold in Athens, Alice Springs-born Alexis Rhodes, 19, is looking forward to a very different World Cup experience. The Australian teenager is competing in her second major senior event, soaking up the knowledge of the seasoned riders in the Australian squad.

"I'm pretty nervous, well, I'm very nervous," she said. "But I'll just try to do my best and see how I go. It's pretty exciting to be racing with top riders. The Australian team is really professional and I've been able to settle in quite well."

Rhodes, who balances her cycle training with studying podiatry at Adelaide University, has made steady progress through the Australian cycling pack since being selected to compete in the world junior track championships in 2002.

She was named Australia's best female junior track cyclist later in the same year. Rhodes starts competition in the time trial event tonight.

"I just want to see how I go against the rest of the world," she said.